Walking on Sunshine
by dogbertcarroll
Summary: Losing a bet and being forced to dress as Supergirl, Xander found Halloween a bit more of a hassle than he expected, but not nearly as much as the PTB did, so they sent him on a marvelous adventure.
1. Chapter 1

**Walking on Sunshine**

**Disclaimer: I own neither BtVS nor DC nor Marvel… and a lot of other things!**

**Chapter 1**

Xander was sure there were more embarrassing ways to die than falling from the sky wearing a miniskirt, but he couldn't think of any off the top of his head, not before he slammed into the concrete at any rate.

***WHAM***

Pain. Orange rock with concerned blue eyes. Fade to black…

He didn't wake up until nearly two weeks had passed. Xander ignored the frantic beeping coming from several machines as he went through his post head injury checklist. He still had all his limbs and his left arm and right leg were in casts. The fact that he was still female was very apparent but secondary to the fact that he was injured and in a strange environment.

He remembered Halloween and losing a bet to Cordelia. Kara had taken over and her thoughts had flashed by so quickly Xander had barely gathered a glimpse of them and what he had seen was humbling. Kara had incinerated every vampire in town and tied up every demon real or costumed in under five minutes. Portals started opening around her and she'd flew into one trying to dodge another.

He instinctively knew he was still Kryptonian, but as he was no longer Kara he lacked the sunlight she'd had stored in her cells. So he'd fallen out of the sky like a brick and cratered the sidewalk of…wherever he was. It had been night of course or he wouldn't have had that problem.

Sitting up took some effort and getting out of bed even more, but Xander made his slow painful way to the window ignoring the even more strident yowling the medical equipment was making. Placing his hand on the glass he could feel a tiny trickle of energy, which made no sense until he looked at the sun. The sun looked almost as red as Krypton's. Apparently he was being held by someone who knew enough about Kryptonians to keep one imprisoned. Well they may have known enough about Kryptonians, but they didn't know enough about Harris'.

His first blow barely shook the glass.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

By the time Grim reached the room Reed had set up for their injured visitor she had cracked the cast on her arm and was beating on the window with both arms despite her injury.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Ben cried out waving his arms to get her attention. "If you keep that up you'll really do yourself an injury!"

"I'm injured and in pain," Xander said. "I'm being deliberately kept that way by cutting off my access to sunlight. I don't know what you want with me, but I'm not willing to stay imprisoned by someone who would treat others this way."

"Reed just wanted you make sure you weren't a threat," Ben said trying to calm her down. "Your potential power level is kind of high."

"So, because I am different it's morally acceptable to keep me injured and in pain, merely because I might possibly be a threat?" Xander demanded.

Ben opened his mouth and then he closed it. "No, it isn't," he admitted after a bit of thought. "But until you woke up we had no way of knowing what kind of person you are and how much innocent blood is a clean conscience worth to you? Because it isn't worth a drop to me."

Xander sighed. "Way to kick my high horse out from under me. Well, I'm not a nut with a god complex or a genocidal madman. Hell, I'm not even a litterbug. I would like sunlight, a Twinkie or two, some clothes and directions to Dr. Strange's place."

The door to the hall clicked open and the intercom came on, "Escort her to the terrace; I'll be there with her clothes in five."

"Need me to carry you?" Ben asked.

"Probably," Xander admitted pausing to awkwardly retie the hospital gown he was wearing before Ben picked him up bridal style and carried him through the building and onto a section that was open to the sky and looked to have been set up like a backyard complete with furniture and pool, though surrounded by bushes.

As the sunlight hit him Xander sighed. "The pain is already a fading memory. I'd strip, but I don't want to offend anyone."

Ben set him down on a beach chair by the pool. "My girl would kill me anyway. Let me introduce myself. I'm Ben Grim, the ever lovin' blue eyed Thing."

Xander offered his hand. "Alexander Harris, sixteen year old male who was turned into the Halloween costume he wore because he lost a bet."

"Ouch," Ben said shaking his head.

"Yeah," Xander agreed. "California boy turned blonde alien goddess."

"That's one extreme change," Ben said suddenly thankful his own change hadn't been that radical.

"And apparently all the stories of Kryptonians concentrate on the physical stats and completely gloss over the fact that their brains are a lot more powerful too," Xander said shaking his head. "My mind is a whirl with transient thoughts and nodes of brilliance!"

Ben managed to keep a straight face as he replied with a thick western accent, "You speak purdier than a three dollar whore."

"Ben!" Richard exclaimed wide eyed as he stepped onto the roof carrying Xander's cleaned and repaired Supergirl outfit. "I'm sorry," Reed began to apologize when Xander and Ben burst out laughing. "I'm missing something, aren't I?" he asked, used to not getting peoples jokes.

Xander accepted the costume and completely unmindful of the two stripped and put it on, as Sue was stepping out onto the terrace with her brother Johnny.

"Hubba hubba," Johnny said with a leer before Sue punched him in the shoulder.

"You can look now," she told Reed and Ben who had turned away.

"I'm a sixteen year old male," Xander explained. "I have no female body modesty."

"Eww," Johnny said as he realized that he'd just ogled a guy.

"There has to be an interesting story behind that," Sue said. "And for why Reed was so paranoid."

"Projected power levels put her at omega class," Reed explained. "I prefer to error on the side of caution."

Xander sighed. "An unfortunately understandable mindset. Anyway, back to what I was saying. Reed, watch all the Mel Brooks movies, especially Blazing Saddles."

"What does that have to do with you being male?" Johnny asked.

"It doesn't, but Ben told me I 'speak purdier than a three dollar whore', shocking Reed who wasn't here for the rest of the conversation."

"Oh," Johnny and his sister chorused.

"Are we all here now so I only have to tell it once?"

"All of us are here," Ben agreed.

"OK, I was turned into my costume and fell through a portal," Xander explained. "My name is Alexander Harris, though I go by Xander. I need to see Dr. Strange, because his fame has even reached my world and if anyone can send me home it would be him."

"That's it?" Reed asked surprised.

"I'd also like to be changed back to a male, but yeah, I just need him to send me home."

"Not returned to human?" Sue asked.

"My high school is set directly over a portal to hell," Xander said. "Our school paper has an obituary section. Why in the world would I want to be human again? Do you have something against Kryptonians?"

"What? No!" Sue quickly blurted out.

"Do you all want your powers removed?" Xander asked curiously. He nodded at the chorus of nos. "My normal self would have died from the fall or from a thousand things in my hometown. Even the power level I have now can't save me from all of the dangers of home."

"And you want to return there?" Johnny asked.

"My family is there," Xander said. "And I'm sure this world has its own dangers, but I don't see you leaving it. I'm sure Reed could whip up a dimensional transport device and find a safer universe to move if anyone was interested."

"Yeah, but if this world was that dangerous I'd grab all my family and stuff them in a portal," Johnny said. "Our world has some dangers but if the local highschool had a regular obituary column and things that could kill an omega, I wouldn't wait for them to agree I'd be kidnapping everyone!"

Xander grinned. "If it weren't abandoning the rest of the world I'd probably do that."

"The line between heroic and suicidal is a thin one," Johnny said. "Just remember saving the world isn't your sole responsibility, it's the responsibility of everyone who lives in it, and you have the right to decide when something is too dangerous for you."

Everyone stared at him in open mouthed shock.

"What? It's what my therapist told me."

"I didn't know you were getting shrunk?" Ben said.

"I had to prove to a girl I met that I wasn't a sex addict," Johnny admitted. "So I talked to a shrink and one thing led to another."

"So you aren't a sex addict?" Ben asked curiously.

"We have a high pressure job, which means we need a way to blow off steam. The fact that we spend so much time in battle means we also have a much higher libido than your average guy on the street. DO you see where I am going with this?" Johnny asked.

"Our level of sexual activity is significantly higher than the statistical norm," Reed agreed. "And probably more than the average citizen could handle comfortably."

"Exactly, so my behavior is normal for someone in my position. I date a girl, she discovers she can't handle me, I move on," Johnny said reasonably. "Now if you'll excuse me I'm helping my shrink deal with a couple of patients. One is a nymphomaniac and another has a sexual obsession with superheroes she wants to get over."

"You're dating a sexual therapist?" Xander asked having put together two and two before anyone else.

"If you want honest answers about sex you don't go to a Freudian shrink," Johnny agreed. "Besides this way I have a productive outlet for my excess energies and I get to help people."

"With your penis," Sue said dryly.

Johnny turned to Reed. "Do you remember that bus that almost went off the bridge last month? As I recall you had both hands on the rail and were using your left foot to catch a biker and your right to prevent the bike from hitting those pedestrians, so what did you have wrapped around the axel that required Sue to whisper in your ear to help you pull it back onto the bridge proper?"

"Oh look, it's a total subject change," Sue said quickly. "So… Xander, why Dr. Strange?" I'm pretty sure Reed could get you home."

Xander went along with the subject change while Johnny just snorted and waved as he left. "A bit of this and that, but mainly the sex change."

"What can you tell us about Kryptonians?" Reed asked.

"You are paranoid, so anything I say at this point you would probably figure out a way to use against me, and as there are at least five people or organizations minimum who have planted bugs here and monitor your computer I'm going to keep mum," Xander said using his X-Ray vision to see how his arm was healing.

"Really? Who?" Read asked, whipping out a laptop and typing away rapidly.

"Tony Stark, Nicholas Fury, Dr. Doom, A.I.M., and… ok make that at least four," Xander replied. "And I really don't want A.I.M. or Tony Stark knowing about me."

"Not Doom or fury?" Ben asked.

"Doom only screws with you guys because Reed was a bad roommate in college and Fury would only do something if I become a threat, though his computers are also probably bugged by Tony and A.I.M." Xander said thoughtfully. "I don't want A.I.M. knowing about me for obvious reasons and frankly I think Tony is a headcase whose ego and intellectual arrogance will lead to bad things all around. He doesn't have Sue and Ben to keep him grounded."

"You know a lot about our world," Reed noted.

"Yeah," Xander agreed. "And I don't want that bandied about either. The last thing I need is people trying to kidnap me to find out what I know."

"I'm seeing several backdoors," Reed said absently as he typed.

Xander scanned the area. "I'm seeing three different designs of robotic insects buzzing about the area."

"Only one of those is mine," Reed said typing faster as the insects started shooting at one another.

Scores of tiny insects battled one another while Sue wrapped the table in a force field.

"Talk about bugged," Ben joked taking out a cigar.

Sue raised an eyebrow.

"Just leave me outside the bubble," Ben said. "I don't mind getting zapped as long as I can smoke."

Sue sighed and shrank the bubble. Various insects fought on and around Ben Grimm, but his rocky hide allowed him to ignore them.

"You may have a point," Reed conceded as a pair of laser turrets popped up and fired on each other before a third blew them up. "However you sound a tad paranoid yourself."

Xander looked around at the chaos surrounding them. "It's not paranoia if you're right."

"Point," he agreed. "I'm going to overhaul my security system but I'm sure Ben wouldn't mind taking you to see Dr. Strange."

"I wanted to compare waffle recipes with Wong anyway," Ben said, flicking a ladybug that was firing lasers at a wasp off his shoulder.

Xander examined himself and peeled off the casts on his arm and leg. "I'm good."

"Don't you need shoes?" Susan asked.

"Bulletproof," Xander replied, the boots having vanished before he got his costume back.

"Doggy landmines," she countered.

"I'll stay a couple of inches above the ground," Xander decided.

"Good call," Ben agreed.

**Typing by: The Last Primarch!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Walking on Sunshine 2**

"You probably should have dressed in something other than your costume," Ben suggested as people stared.

"Ben you're dressed like a private detective in a trenchcoat and hat. The only reason they wouldn't stare at you is because you are either a common sight or they are being polite."

"New Yorkers are polite people," Ben replied. "Most of the rude people I've met are from out of town."

Xander watched amused as the nearby New Yorkers seemed to walk a little more proudly after hearing Ben compliment them. "Probably the floating bit," Xander replied lowering himself so he was only walking a few inches above the ground rather than high enough to be at Ben's height.

"Yeah, that must be it," Ben said obviously amused himself.

"I know, I know," Xander groused. "The outfit was designed by someone who watched too much anime. The only good thing about a short skirt is it allows my legs to get more sun."

"Which does little good since we're taking the subway," Ben said as he lead her down the stairs and handed her a token for the turnstile.

Xander shuddered as the smells of the subway hit his senses. "There places need better ventilation and a metric fuck-ton of Lysol."

The laughter from the crowd around them showed they were being listened to, but the crowd was trying to not stare or bug them.

"Good luck," Ben snorted. "I don't know of anyone with the power to clean and disinfect a New York subway station. it's always 'blow something up' or 'become super strong', never 'disinfect and organize."

"It'd be nice if it was," Xander replied. "I could probably go wide angle with the heat vision to disinfect and use super speed to clean, but I'm still healing up from hitting the sidewalk. Give me a week or two first."

"What kind of powers you got anyway?" Ben asked curiously.

"Heat vision, freezing breath, flying, super damn near everything," Xander replied.

"That's a lot of power," Ben said.

"Enough that I can pretty much make whatever I need," Xander replied. "I never have to worry about money because I can find and retrieve gems and rare metals easily. I can fix and repair things you normally need heavy construction equipment for. So naturally I look at people who commit crimes as idiots. If you are powerful enough to rob a bank surely there is a legal occupation that can make even more money using your abilities."

"I hear yah," Ben agreed as the train left the station. "I always figured if the superhero gig didn't work out I could work at search and rescue. I'm the jaws of life, snow plow, bulldozer, or whatever heavy equipment is needed in an emergency."

"Exactly! The world has enough crooks between the lawyers and politicians that anything more is just overkill."

Laughter rolled through the train car.

**Three stops and ten minutes later…**

"… and if you had the mutant ability to correct people's use of the English language, who would even know? Do you think that's why people always talk about the Grammar Nazi as if he or she is a super villain? I can just picture her dressed in a combination of old west school marm outfit and a Nazi uniform, smacking her free hand with a ruler. 'That is an incorrect usage of the word 'your''. So sayeth the Grammar Nazi!"

The laughter was almost deafening as they pulled into the station and the pair got off the train.

"You are one of a kind kid," Ben said with a chuckle.

"I'm one of a species at the moment," Xander replied. "Even in the reality Kara came from Kryptonians were rare, one's who weren't miniaturized anyway."

"Miniaturized?" Ben asked as they reached the street.

"An insane computer shrunk the city of Kandor and left with it before the planet exploded, so we have a tiny city that seems content to live in a bottle because despite the high tech level Kryptonians pretty much keep to themselves and never spread beyond their home system."

"You have a city in a bottle?" Ben asked in shock.

"Kara's cousin does," Xander replied. "We have, if I remember right, two Kryptonians, one from each habitable planet in their system, two human hybrid cloning experiments, one strange clone that was… dimensionally fractured, I think that's the best way to put it, and God only knows how many criminals stuffed into a dimensional rift called the Phantom Zone."

"The Phantom Zone?"

"The ruling council of Krypton decided it was more civilized to stick their completely beyond rehabilitation criminals into a dimensional rift where they would suffer but not age, so they could plot their escape attempts for all eternity and generally be a pain in the ass to everyone Kryptonian."

"You're kidding?" Ben asked.

"Nope," Xander replied. "The death penalty was considered barbaric."

"That's just crazy," Ben said as they approached a four story brownstone building that lacked any pigeons or any pigeon crap, a rarity in any city.

A bald Asian man in green silk pajamas with a fu-manchu answered the door. "Greetings Mr. Grimm. You and your friend have been expected."

"Morning, Wong," Ben said. "Doc already ready to see us?"

"I have tea prepared in the study. He should be down momentarily," Wong said.

Xander whistled as he felt the wards roll over him as he entered. There was more magic running through this place than the Hellmouth radiated when it opened and the feel of it was almost sentient.

"Tea?" Ben asked, startling Xander who had been following in a daze.

"Sure," Xander agreed as he looked around Dr. Strange's study and saw the bookcases that ran from floor to ceiling, packed solid with books on magic. Just scanning the titles took a little focus as the books seemed to multiply under his gaze.

"Ben, Mr. Harris," Strange greeted them as he entered his study.

"Dr. Strange," Xander replied, shaking his hand. "So you already know everything?"

"True name ward," Strange explained. "Willingly entering my domicile tells me your true name."

"Great googly moogly," Xander muttered in shock.

Dr. Strange grinned. "It's why few people try to beard the Sorcerer Supreme in his den."

"That'd do it," Xander agreed. "I was wondering if you could help me, I need to return to male and my home dimension."

"I'm going to need to know a lot more than that," Dr. Strange said. "How did you become female and end up outside your dimension? How long have you been gone? What other changes have you noticed?"

**One long and rambling explanation later…**

"…and then we came here," Xander finished.

Ben and Strange both stared at him in open mouthed shock.

"While theoretically possible the fact that you came from a world where our lives are common knowledge and public entertainment is a bit disconcerting," Dr. Strange admitted once he'd recovered.

"It's all PG," Xander assured them. "NO sex or nudity on screen and very little cursing."

"That makes me feel better," Ben admitted.

"As long as we aren't adult entertainment, I suppose it's not that bad," Dr. Strange agreed.

"The closest it really gets for you is on a poster listing your magical paraphernalia, your mustache is listed with a comment below it saying, "trust me, it's magical-Cleo," Xander explained.

Ben burst out laughing and Dr. Strange chuckled.

"That is amusing," Dr. Strange admitted. "Well, while changing you to male is technically possible, the amount of chaos in your aura would make it a bit unstable."

"How so?" Xander asked.

"I'm not sure," he said thoughtfully. "You could end up turning female with the phase of the moon."

"I'd be a were-woman?' Xander asked.

"Considering a trickster god was involved, from what I can tell, that is a definite possibility," Strange said. "Your best bet for a stable male from would be turning you back into a human but frankly, the risks involved in offending the powers involved in your transformation when you live on a Hellmouth?"

"Ouch," Xander said. "I'll take were-girl. Considering the powers I gained, it's a small price to pay."

"That was just a possibility," Dr. Strange reminded him.

"I know, but better part time male than all-time female," Xander replied. "I happen to like being my birth gender."

"It'll take me a couple of hours to get everything ready," Dr. Strange said.

"Mind if I read a book while I wait?" Xander asked.

"Go right ahead," Strange agreed.

Xander turned and scanned the entire bookcase with his X-Ray vision committing it to memory. He found the case to be dimensionally expanded to hold three times as many books as was apparent. "Done."

"That was quick," Ben said.

Xander shrugged as his brain started decrypting what he'd read. "Kryptonian."

**Typing by: The Last Primarch!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Walking On Sunshine 3**

After the ritual was complete Dr. Strange scanned Xander with the Eye of Agomotto and burst out laughing.

Xander, now a blonde haired blue eyed male in a Supergirl outfit grinned and adjusted himself. "I'll admit, I probably look pretty funny but I doubt I look that funny."

"I think someone was listening when we talked about you being a were-girl," Stephen said.

"So, every full moon?" Xander asked, thinking it was a small price to pay for his manhood the rest of the time.

"And the night before and after," Stephen agreed. "Just like a real were-wolf, but that's not what I was laughing at."

"OK, I'll bite-" Xander began.

Strange burst out laughing so hard he actually doubled over.

"Bite?" Xander said thoughtfully. "You don't mean?"

"Yes, yes I do," Dr. Strange said wiping tears of laughter from his eyes.

"What am I missing?" Ben asked.

"Just like a were-wolf I can bite someone and turn them into one," Xander said with a grin.

Ben snickered. "You allergic to silver?"

"No, but chocolate will make him sleepy," Dr. Strange explained.

Xander chuckled. "Now that's a nice touch, just enough to be funny without overdoing it."

"Hence the laughter," Dr. Strange agreed.

"Hopefully sending me home will be just as easy," Xander said. "But first… do you have something I can wear? I'm a bit smooshed here and I'm getting a wedgie."

**A word that tasted like ice cold cheddar cheese and a single hand gesture that would get you shot in LA later…**

Xander examined his outfit. "You even got the boots right," he said in surprise, seeing he was dressed like Superman.

"Magic," Strange said with a smirk.

"Thanks doc!"

"And now to open a portal to your home," Dr. Strange said. "I'll be opening it in New York in your world, so I don't affect the Hellmouth."

"Good call," Xander agreed. "I can find my way home pretty easily."

Opening a portal took both hands and several words that tasted like burnt rubber smelled.

The moment the portal opened an unassuming man in an old fashioned brown suit and bowler hat stepped out. "Hello everyone, I'm Whistler, a servant to the Powers That Be."

"Yes, you are," Dr. Strange agreed, giving him a once over.

"Problem?" Xander asked, seeing his easy ticket home waving goodbye.

"Yeah," Whistler said apologetically. "if you come here evil gets to balance the scales."

"You come from a balanced universe?" Dr. Strange said in shock.

"No idea," Xander replied confused. "What does that mean?"

"It means we keep the sides even so the war is eternal," Whistler explained.

"Why?" Xander asked horrified.

"Do you think mankind would have advanced as far as it has if everything was sweetness and light?" Whistler asked. "Mankind thrives on conflict."

"You have one vampire slayer and how many vampires?" Xander asked, not buying it.

Whistler chuckled. "We have two vampire slayers since you gave Summers CPR and boy didn't that twist some shorts, but you're looking at it the wrong way."

"How do you mean?"

"Do you really think one or even a hundred vampires is equal to Miss Summers?" Whistler asked.

"How many vampires are there?" Xander asked pointedly.

"How many humans are there?" Whistler countered. "And seriously, you and your friends aren't the only ones fighting, and each one of you is worth a hell of a lot more than a single vamp. Rupert alone is in the triple digits."

"Oh!" Xander said in understanding.

"To balance your return, we'd have to open a couple new Hellmouths."

Xander sighed. Whistler was right. "Fine, but I get to bite you."

"Huh?"

"I can't go home, so I get to bite your hand," Xander said.

"Erm, OK," Whistler said confused as he slowly extended his hand and winced as Xander bit hard enough to draw blood. "Ow!"

"I swear not to try and return home again."

"Thanks kid," Whistler said wrapping his hand in a handkerchief. "I know it's tough, but the souls of heroes have to come from somewhere."

Before Xander could ask, Whistler stepped back through the portal and it vanished in a burst of light. "What did he mean by that?"

"Odin probably knows, but I'm mortal so all I have is a theory that seems to fit the facts," Dr. Strange admitted. "Balance Universes are where souls are tempered before their next incarnation, as someone like Ben here."

"Except for the rocky orange hide I'm just a normal guy," Ben said shaking his head.

"If you want to test a man's character, give him power," Xander quoted.

"A regular guy who got bombarded by cosmic radiation and turned into a man of stone wouldn't have turned himself into a living wall to protect the innocent," Dr. Strange added.

"It's what you do that defines you," Xander agreed. "If you lost your power tomorrow, I'm willing to bet Reed would build you a set of armor that matches your current strength and you'd still be doing what you're doing now."

Ben blushed. "Enough about me, what are you going to do now?"

"Find a tropical island and take up nude sunbathing for a week or two," Xander replied. "I've got a lot to think about before I make any big decisions."

"Probably a good idea," Dr. Strange said. "Feel free to stop by if you need any advice."

"I will," Xander told him. "I'll stop by in a month or so just to let you know how things are going."

"Thanks." Dr. Strange chuckled. "I can't believe you bit him."

"Ben, it's been fun," Xander said shaking his hand as they departed.

"Don't be a stranger, I'm in the book," Ben replied.

"Later," Xander said taking to the air and scanning the sky for traffic before shooting straight up. He kept his speed under the speed of sound until he got high enough not to have to worry about breaking any windows.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"Good lord you people are mopey," Ethan said. He'd taken to hanging around the library and trying to cheer everyone up after they'd saved him from Eyghon.

"Xander," Willow said.

"Angel," Buffy added.

"Jenn- err, Janna," Giles finished as Jenny Calendar had revealed her true identity after finding out about Angel's dusting and had been recalled by her family.

"We know Xander to still be alive and safe," Ethan told Willow. "Janna as well, she's just been reassigned."

"And Angel?" Buffy asked sarcastically.

"Was an abomination in the eyes of man and god," Ethan assured her just as cheerfully. "If you want to date old men I'll run you by a rest home. They at least have a pulse and are about a third of his age."

The ensuing chase scene, which ended with Buffy giving Ethan a wedgie and forcing him to say uncle after chasing him around the room, was capped by the appearance of a dark skinned girl from the hallway.

"Mr. Giles?" she asked in a thick Jamaican accent.

"Yes, miss?" Giles said.

Her eyes darted about. "I was sent by Samuel Zabuto, I be Kendra the…VS," she said cautiously trying to hide her calling from the civilians.

Everyone fell silent.

"I thought you were the VS?" Ethan asked Buffy.

"I am!" Buffy exclaimed. "I've been the VS for a while!"

"A new VS is only called when the last one dies," Giles said. "Sam Zabuto is a Watcher of some repute."

"The Master drowned you and Xander brought you back with CPR," Willow reminded her. "When your heart stopped a new Slayer must have been called."

"You were dead?" Kendra asked Buffy.

"CPR brought me back, but yeah for a minute or so," Buffy replied.

"Does that mean if we drown Kendra and brought her back we'd have three Slayers?" Ethan asked.

Everyone turned to Kendra who fell into a defensive stance and whipped out a stake.

**Typing by: The Last Primarch!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Walking on sunshine 4**

Xander scanned yet another 'deserted' island only to find it was a hidden base. 'Looks to be SHIELD', he thought to himself as he saw the logo plastered on all the uniforms and equipment. Sighing he decided to go with plan B. He found a shallow section of seabed about where Paradise Island was in the DC universe, according to Kara's memories, and after taking a deep breath he froze it solid.

"Damn," he said in wonder as he saw what he'd done. It was one thing to have Kara's memories of doing something of epic scale, but quite another to do it yourself. He landed on the solid block of ice that was once ocean and shook his head. In one breath he'd frozen a section of ocean the size of a football field solid!

Shaking his head he took to the air and repeated the feat over and over before cutting out a massive chunk in the middle with his head vision and placing it in the ocean to melt while he used his freeze breath to reinforce the ice wall around the now bared sea floor. Beams of radiant red energy lanced out of his eyes but failed to cut deep enough to do any good, and he kept having to reinforce the wall of ice before it melted from the resulting heat. It was exhausting work.

Walking along the wall he rethought his actions. He'd planned to use his heat vision to cut a section of bedrock out and lift it up allowing magma to fill where it had been before he cooled it down and set the bedrock down, giving himself a good sized island without setting off a volcano and causing a tidal wave.

Kal-El could have done it, but he wasn't Kal-El. He pushed aside a bit of self-pity that came from Kara's memories. Superman had been absorbing solar radiation for decades and he… well he was freaking Superman! If you wanted to come off second best to someone, he was the one you wanted it to be.

Xander stopped and just concentrated on soaking up the rays while he figured out what to do. Just because he couldn't use heat vision the way Kal-El did didn't mean he couldn't get the job done. Several hours later, as the sun began to set, Xander figured out his plan of attack. Leaving his clothes on the wall he dove down and cut through the ground with his fists before swimming beneath the center and lifting it up, allowing magma to fill in where it had been.

Naturally the rock began to break apart and collapse, so he let it drop and simply burrowed up from the center. He was more convinced than ever that Kara and Kal-El kept large objects together through the subconscious use of telekinesis when they lifted them. He was sure once he got some practice he'd be able to do the same. Looking down at the island he'd made he was a bit amused to find he'd shaped it like the familiar shield he wore on his chest. Of course he'd had to use his X-Ray vision to see it because the mass of ice in a tropical region caused one hell of a storm. Yawning he put back on his outfit and chose a comfy patch of flat rocks to rest on. He'd wait until morning and some more sun before he finished.

Apparently he'd been more tired than he thought because he slept till nearly noon. Feeling full of energy once more as the tropical sun had burned through the fog that the storm had left behind, he took to the air above the clouds and scanned the ocean for what he wanted… which he found in the form of an active underwater volcano half a world away.

A sunken freighter not far from that site provided a couple of shipping containers (that were filled with redwood patio furniture and garden statuary) which he could use so he didn't have everything crumble in his hands like the island had. Of course waste not, want not, so Xander emptied their contents into the clearing where he'd slept before returning them to the freighter and cutting massive blocks of obsidian from the undersea volcano with his heat vision and stacking them for ease of transport.

Using a combination of skills from himself and Kara, along with castle blueprints from one of Stephen's books, Xander soon had himself a massive black castle in the center of the island covered with runes that he had no clue about…oops!

Oh well, he was pretty sure he'd need a mage to charge them before he had to worry about it.

Making a large metal scoop out of the bow of the sunken freighter, Xander zipped from island to island taking a single load of dirt or sand to cover his own island with. A scattering of stolen trees made the island look less bare and Xander decided he'd add a freshwater lake and some wildlife later. Grabbing some redwood patio furniture he laid out on the beach using his heat vision to melt the remaining ice and blowing away the fog so he could refill his tanks with some nude sunlight.

As he laid there he got a brief feeling he was being watched, but a casual scan of the ocean revealed nothing. He shrugged it off as unimportant and started mentally looking through all the books he'd read to distract himself from the tremendous pang of homesickness that had just hit him.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"Finished tracking our ghost?" Fury asked the radar operator.

"Yes sir," she replied bringing up a map on the big screen that showed lines shooting off in a dozen directions from a strangely shaped object.

"Get me a visual overlay," he ordered.

The image of a blond haired man hovering over the ocean was shown as he froze part of it solid causing a great deal of fog and eventually a storm that obscured their view. The radar images showed the sudden appearance of a mass in the center of the storm, but even after the storm had dispersed the melting ice caused enough fog to block their view. Advancing to the present by jumps of an hour at a time eventually showed him blowing away the fog and revealing a black castle on an island and him sunbathing nude.

"Orders sir?" she asked.

"For what?" Fury snorted. "Take it off the screen."

"Never act without information or necessity," Fury lectured. "We have zero information on Blondy and since his actions are neither hostile nor illegal we wait and gather data until such time as he becomes a threat."

"Yes sir," she replied.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Absently working on his tactile telekinesis by stacking grains of sand, Xander compared studies of unknown runic constructs in various places and Kryptonian technology. Drawings of a 'Portal Machine' made of crystal and stone, discovered by a family of three in the late seventies that allowed a dimensionally displaced family to return home seemed to be exactly what he was looking for.

Xander grinned and made planes not even noticing the two girls made out of sand that were waltzing around him.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"We aren't drowning anyone!" Giles said. "I am going to call the council and verify Kendra is the latest Slayer and find out why I wasn't told a new Slayer had been called."

"No sense of adventure or curiosity," Ethan said mockingly as Giles went into his office to make some calls.

"You are an evil, evil man," Buffy said, rolling her eyes.

"No one's going to drown you," Willow assured Kendra. "We're just surprised is all."

"Why are you here?" Buffy asked. "You aren't getting my Watcher!"

"A dark power was supposed to be rising here, but I can't find a single vamp to dust!" Kendra complained.

"Yeah," Buffy said with a sigh. "Supergirl kinda vaporized all the vamps in town so we're fresh out."

"What?!" Kendra asked in shock.

"I turned her friend into Supergirl for the night and she laser eyed every vamp in town," Ethan explained cheerfully.

Kendra looked at Buffy.

"Not me," Buffy said. "I dressed as a medieval princess."

"I dressed as a ghost," Willow said. "Xander lost a bet with Larry and had to dress as Supergirl."

"You turned a man into Supergirl and he killed all the vampires?" Kendra asked Ethan, just to be sure.

"Faster than a speeding bullet," Ethan replied.

"A whoosh of air and they were gone," Willow agreed.

"Where is she now," Kendra asked.

"He is missing," Willow said sadly.

"He is safe, but we know not where yet," Ethan added.

"I blame you," Willow told him.

"I know," Ethan said rolling his eyes. "How about I scry for him again?" he offered trying to make peace with the redhead.

"You think it'll work any better now?" Willow asked.

"Last time all we got was safe and healing, so he should be healthier now meaning a stronger signal to latch onto."

"I'll get the bowl!" Willow said excitedly.

"You better be right," Buffy warned him.

"A drop of blood from each of you will double the signal strength," Ethan assured them as he pulled out various things from his pockets. "You both count as seers to magic."

"You want my blood?" Kendra asked suspiciously.

"A drop for scrying with you present," he explained to her.

"And our blood counts as a seer's?" she questioned.

"All Slayers get prophetic dreams," he told her. "That's enough for scrying purposes."

Giles stepped out of his office a little later only to find several red faced girls and an amused chaos mage. "Kendra is indeed the Slayer and what have you done now?"

"Scryed for Xander who is fully healed and awake," Ethan replied.

"And their reaction?"

"He's on a beach somewhere and is a natural blonde now." Ethan said amused.

"Muscles, lots of muscles," Buffy said.

"He was unconscious before, but he isn't now," Willow said with certainty and a little drool.

Kendra blinked a few times but didn't say anything.

**Typing by: The Last Primarch!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Walking on Sunshine 5**

Xander considered the best way to soak up sunlight. Sure lying on the beach was relaxing, but it wasn't exactly efficient. The idea of making a huge magnifying glass was amusing but also wasn't efficient enough to bother with. There were several power plants that used acres of mirrors to concentrate sunlight to a single point, but while that was an ideal solution for him, interfering in the running of a power plant would disrupt their energy production costing them quite a bit of money.

It was a bit risky to fly into space with so little reserves, even if the sunlight did fill them quicker outside the atmosphere. Xander chuckled as he recalled something, two somethings actually.

Xander put his outfit back on…which had been designed to be transparent to UV radiation so stripping wasn't required to gain the maximum amount of solar energy. OK, so nude sunbathing was fun and he liked to show off his new physique, he was only…kryptonian.

He took a moment to unwedgie himself before making tracks for Alaska and a live volcano that regularly spewed tons of sulfur and had created a hole in the ozone layer.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"Report," Fury ordered.

"He's violated US airspace," she reported. "He seems content to float above an active volcano, except for periods of three minutes."

"Three minutes?"

She brought up the footage with the touch of a button.

"He's fixing potholes?" Fury asked.

"Yes sir," she confirmed. "Alaska has always had significant problems with road conditions because of weather and budgetary concerns, so no shortage of them exists. Every forty five to forty seven minutes, the subject moves at speeds exceeding those of Quicksilver by a large margin and effects road repairs on unoccupied roads."

"Anything else?"

"He's getting better at it," she replied. "He's shown improvement in the amount of damage he can fix on his three minute breaks every single time."

"He's gaining in skill and power," Fury agreed. "And unlike most supers he's more concerned with building things rather than destroying them."

"Yes, sir."

"Continue monitoring and see what the shrinks can come up with," Fury ordered.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Xander felt ready for space. He'd absorbed and burned off a tremendous amount of energy deepening his reserves and improving the efficiency with which he used it. He'd also repaired about twenty five percent of Alaska's roads. All in all, a good day's work he felt.

Taking a deep breath, out of habit, Xander Harris took off to space… almost. What he actually did was, while keeping an eye out for rogue satellites, take up a high earth orbit.

He ignored the rather large asteroid in a similar orbit, but did note it had a base on it. He practiced his speed and aim with his heat vision, vaporizing tiny bits of debris while pushing larger bits into lower orbits where they quickly burned up in the atmosphere. It was a couple of hours later that his concentration was broken when he missed his target that he noticed a silver haired man in a red outfit waving to him from the base.

Grateful for the break, Xander flew slowly over to him, so as not to startle him, and was surprised to find there was a field around the asteroid that held in the atmosphere. "Xander Harris," he introduced himself offering a hand as he entered the hanger bay and saw several shuttles as well as a couple of familiar faces.

"Eric Lensher," the man replied shaking his hand.

"Master of Magnetism," Xander said with a nod, before turning to the others. "Toad, Sabretooth, Pyro, Blob and… I'm guessing Mystique."

The blond woman smirked. "Emma Frost actually."

Xander quickly ran through a series of mental exercises that were created to help beginning mages throw off fae glamours and saw her outfit change to the white leather lingerie and half cape he'd been expecting. "I see," Xander agreed.

She blinked and stepped back. "Quick shielding."

"Thanks," Xander turned back to Eric. "What can I do for you?"

"I was just curious as to who and what you were, since you were close to my base," Eric explained openly.

Xander nodded. "I'm surprised you didn't just ask Emma. I'm pretty sure she scans everyone within range."

"Your thoughts were too quick and mostly centered around your use of your rather unique form of Pyrokinesis and scanning for targets," she admitted. "The distance was a bit too far to shake you from your trance."

"Pyrokinesis?" Pyro asked curious.

"Eye lasers," Xander replied. "Not flame shaping the way you work."

"You seem quite well informed," Eric said.

"You guys are rather famous," Xander replied while running through several books Strange had on mental protections and putting them into practice.

Emma frowned as her probes found increasingly tougher shields of startling variety in Xander's mind as she attempted to gain entry.

"So what are you and why are you here?" Eric asked politely but firmly, not wanting to get side tracked.

"Alien," Xander explained. "I was practicing my laser vision when you invited me in."

"Why not use it on Earth?" Eric asked.

"Cleaning up the debris field, since your species isn't advanced enough in general to do so, is a lot more productive than simply melting targets on Earth," Xander replied.

"You look human but don't smell it," Sabretooth added his own two cents, just before Emma Frost fell to her knees, her hips shaking.

"What did you do?" Magneto demanded.

Sabretooth burst out laughing as Emma moaned and collapsed a second later.

"What did you do?" Eric asked calming down as he took in Sabretooth's reaction.

"You know how you can throw up a mental shield based on a single emotion or sensation?" Xander asked knowing Magneto was trained in how to protect his mind.

Eric nodded. "A skilled 'path can generally push through one without much effort, but it can keep out lesser psychics, especially if you have a memory of a particularly painful moment to draw on."

"Painful!" Sabretooth laughed and clutched his sides.

"Everyone expects pain," Xander said shaking his head. "What they don't suspect is multiple shields in a row, of a split second before orgasm."

Eric managed to keep a straight face, though he was obviously amused while the rest of his men laughed like crazy. "A unique defense."

Xander nodded. "It's loosely based on a super hero from a porn movie who would shoot people with an orgasm ray to fight crime."

"So I take it you aren't hostile to mutants?" Eric asked.

Xander shook his head. "I deal with people on an individual basis, not one based on species and truthfully, I don't consider mutants a separate species from humanity."

"Really? Why not?" Eric asked.

"Humans are one of the most mutable races known," Xander explained. "You guys mutate from so many sources they're impossible to list. But it's rarely a stable mutation passed down to your progeny. The Cassidy's are a good case for being their own offshoot of humanity because their mutation is passed down from one generation to another pretty much unchanged, but not mutants in general."

"So because most mutant lines have erratic traits you don't consider them an improvement on humanity?" Eric asked.

"If they were all positive mutations I'd consider mutants an improvement, but they aren't. There are plenty of mutants who crapped out in the dice roll and instead of an improvement got snake eyes. All the X-gene does is guarantee the person can mutate under the right circumstances, which is also random and not always favorable. Humans mutate pretty readily without the X-gene so it's more like hair color than a guaranteed advantage."

"But it is for the Cassidy clan?" Pyro asked curiously.

"Breeds true and is a proven advantage," Xander agreed. "Their X-gene sequence appears to be stable. I haven't done a tremendous amount of research but the sequence referred to as the X-gene has too many variations to be considered a single trait marking a species."

"Would be nice to have kids who inherited my power," Pyro admitted.

"Some of you might," Xander agreed. "Remember the Cassidy's X-gene started just like anyone else's. It might be something as simple as spending most of their formative years with people carrying the same power before theirs activates. Like I said, I haven't really studied it."

"I need to talk with Xavier," Eric decided.

"I'd sneak my kids over to Magneto's house," Blob said as Eric left, absorbed in his own thoughts.

"You lost me," Toad said.

"Would you rather your kid had your power or Magneto's?" the Blob asked. "Personally, I didn't roll snake eyes, but I sure as hell didn't roll a seven either."

"You got a point there," Sabretooth agreed. "I got real lucky with mine. Next kid I have, I'll raise myself, maybe let the runt babysit a few times."

"So what's your race like?" Pyro asked.

"Dead," Xander replied. "Planet exploded, so I'm pretty much it."

"Bummer," Toad said. "So what's your power?"

"Super senses, strength, speed, etc… laser eyes, flight and I can bite people and make them turn into a woman."

"You're joking!" Toad exclaimed.

"No, seriously," Xander said.

"You gotta be shittin' me," Sabretooth said. "Is that like some weird thing your race developed in place of females?"

"Nah, magical curse," Xander explained, wondering why he'd felt compelled to share that.

"Bite me," Blob said offering his hand, after arguing with Toad.

"You want to be female?" Xander asked.

"Nah, I think you're fucking with us, but Toad double dog dared me, so I gotta," Blob said.

"Fair enough," Xander agreed. "I have to bite hard enough to draw blood."

"Do it," Blob agreed, wincing as Xander's teeth punctured the skin.

Everyone waited and then Blob gave a relieved sigh and the rest of the guys burst out laughing when he didn't change.

"I knew you were just fuckin' with us," Pyro said, as the Blob broke out a celebratory chocolate bar.

"Actually I wasn't," Xander said.

The Blob took a bite of chocolate and sat down, falling over a second later and snoring loudly enough that Sabretooth rolled him over on his side and Toad rolled Emma next to him so they were curled up together.

"Your bite puts people to sleep?" Pyro guessed.

"Nah, magical curse," Xander explained. "It's like being a werewolf. Every full moon, and the night before and after, he'll change, but instead of silver being poison, chocolate puts us to sleep. It's a prank from a trickster god I got hit with."

"You're serious," Sabretooth said in surprise.

"Completely," Xander assured them.

"So Tubby is going to turn into a Shelia three nights a month and chocolate puts him to sleep now?" Pyro asked in shock, unable to believe his ears.

"Exactly," Xander said.

"How much would you charge to bite Wolverine?" Sabretooth asked.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Wolverine froze in place, his eyes darting around the room.

"Something wrong Logan?" Xavier asked, setting down his coffee.

"I just got a bad feeling."

**Typing by: The Last Primarch!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Walking on Sunshine 6**

"For me to intentionally inflict it, they have to agree," Xander explained, knowledge of Janus's 'prank' suddenly appearing in his mind. "However everyone I bite can inflict it on one other person without their agreement."

"So to tag the runt I have to let myself be tagged," Sabretooth said thoughtfully.

"Bit much to go through for a prank," Pyro said.

"Decisions, decisions," Sabretooth muttered.

"It'd shock the shit out of Mystique," Toad said thoughtfully.

Sabretooth grinned evilly and extended a hand.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Xander topped off his tank once more before returning to his new island home. His heat vision was a lot more effective he noted, as he melted a good size hole in the center of the island for a lake.

He considered retrieving a piece of a glacier to fill the lake, but decided to just cause another storm so the transplanted foliage would get some water as well.

A ring of ice a football field wide a mile offshore encircled the island in short order and Xander rose above it to escape the rising fog so he could recharge.

Each power he practiced with became stronger and more precise, using less energy when activated. Superman had chosen the perfect career to make himself stronger, even if that hadn't been his original intent, because he'd had to continually use his powers and they grew with each use. Xander had a long way to go before he reached that level.

His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he couldn't live on sunlight alone. A quick scan showed no sunken pirate ships filled with gold, which was little surprise considering the number of secret bases around. All the easy to scavenge stuff had already been snatched up.

A more thorough scan took a little longer but was far more productive. While any major treasures had been claimed, little things had escaped notice. Small coins and pieces of jewelry buried in the mud or encased in coral were easy for him to see and retrieve. There was also a rather surprising amount of more modern jewelry and money that was discovered as well.

Wrapping his cape around the grocery bag sized pile of treasure, Xander set off for Florida. It took him little time to reach Miami and find a reputable looking coin shop, but as soon as he stepped inside the proprietor, an older man with greying hair immediately said, "I don't deal in stolen goods!"

"They're not stolen," Xander assured him, realizing he probably did resemble a supervillain trying to fence his goods more than a legitimate business man. "I collected it all from the ocean floor." Opening the cape on top of the glass counter, Xander revealed his hoard, quite a bit of which had coral on it.

"Oh," the man said surprised, his hands already in motion as he sorted through the pile. "Most people would have cleaned them," he said absently.

"I've seen antiques auctions," Xander replied. "I recall auctions that dropped by about a third because they were cleaned.

"Yeah," he agreed. "Some of this will be even more valuable because of the coral on it. Authentic pirate treasure?"

"Probably," Xander agreed. "I found the leftovers after everything was picked nearly clean in the Bermuda Triangle."

"International waters?" he asked hopefully.

"I dove there specifically so I wouldn't have to deal with a local government trying to put in claims on it," Xander agreed.

"What about the modern stuff?"

"Same deal. I scoured about twenty square miles and it's rather popular with rich tourists."

"Who get drunk and lose things," the old man said with a grin.

"And for most people when something falls into the ocean it's gone."

"I'd have to take out a loan to afford all this," the old man admitted. "I have enough cash on hand for about a quarter of it."

"Buy the quarter and put the rest on consignment," Xander suggested.

"Got a bank account?"

"Illegal alien," Xander replied. "Emphasis on the alien."

"You sound like a Cali boy."

"That's where I learned English."

The old man separated out the coins. "Give me a minute and I'll get you your money. You'll have to stop by periodically to get the money from the consignment when I sell those."

"Not a problem."

The old man brought Xander a large wad of bills and a carpet bag for the jewelry. "Check with Janice next door about the jewelry. She's fair if tightfisted."

"Will do," Xander agreed putting everything in the bag and donning his cape.

"It's nice doing business with you?" the old man said fishing for his name and offering his hand.

"Xander Harris."

"Bernie Brighton."

As Xander entered the next store the old woman's eyes flickered to the carpet bag. "Did you rob Bernie?"

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Some people eyed him warily but most just ignored his outfit and assumed he was on his way to a costume party. The fact that he'd written the word 'props' on the side in big black letters, probably encouraged that view.

Finishing his chili fries, Xander walked down to the beach and waded into the water until he was waist deep, crouched down like he was on a jet ski and shot off. Nobody noticed except a couple of kids. Once he was out of sight of the shore he lifted out of the water and flew normally. Once he got home he noticed the ring of ice hadn't melted, still providing a near solid fog around the island, but the storm had passed. Looking at the partially filled lake he decided to snag some ice later. He'd been considering raiding the Savage Land for wildlife anyway.

But for now, more sunbathing!

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"You're saying she mastered scrying in just a week?" Giles asked in surprise.

"Perfectly," Ethan assured him. "I even showed her the shortcuts I use, but she prefers the traditional methods."

"It's best to learn to walk before you try to run," Giles said.

Ethan snorted. "She's practically waltzing at this point; she just disapproves of shortcuts because they affect the quality of the image."

"Xander still nude sunbathing?" Giles asked dryly.

"All day while floating around," Ethan agreed. "And every night he works out. Really if he doesn't take it easy the poor girl is going to drown in her own drool."

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

Xander's version of wind sprints was to run across the water and take a handful of sand from a different island each time to deposit on his own slowly growing beach. His speed was improving and he'd discovered how to ease through the sound barrier without causing a boom.

A quick trip to both poles netted him the ice he wanted to finish filling his lake and the location of the Savage Land. Dinosaurs looked even cooler in real life! Once he'd made sure he had enough prey to support them he was definitely going to stock his island with them, some of the smaller ones anyway, he simply didn't have room for herds of brontosauruses or enough hunting area for more than a couple of Tyrannosauruses. Pterodactyls and the smaller fauna were definitely the way to go.

A natural storm swept over the island and lighting struck the castle, causing no damage as the runes on the towers absorbed it glowing brightly for a moment.

"I really should have Dr. Strange take a look at that," Xander muttered. He'd built the castle but hadn't done more than glance at it, spending his days sleeping in the sunlight and the night building up his strength and skills to somewhere near Kara's level.

Mind made up, Xander started to fly off when he heard a boat near his island. Turning his attention towards the area he discovered a large French yacht was headed towards his island and there was a man giving an interview on the main deck as they approached. "Naturally I decided to claim it in the name of France," the man said smugly. "My family has always been explorers, so it is in my blood."

"And how did you discover this island?" the reporter asked eagerly.

"I discovered some anomalies when I was attempting to sort out the poor quality images I have of the area from a satellite I bought off the Russians. Barbarians without an ounce of class, but they do make robust equipment," he said smugly. "In just a minute we should set foot on my new vacation spot. I think I'll name it after myself."

Xander took a deep breath and slowly chilled the air, making the storm worse, but also creating a freezing cold fog that clung to everything leaving a layer of ice behind. Another half dozen breaths ensured anyone that lacked X-ray vision couldn't see their hand in front of their face. He flew down and grabbed ahold of the boat, concentrating on using tactile telekinesis to cancel out their inertia, he zipped the ship over to a fog bank just off the shore of Scotland. Xander panted for a moment, severely winded by the extreme drain on his reserves. Apparently using telekinesis to compensate for inertia was a bit more power intensive than he thought.

He quickly took to the sky above the fog and basked in the sun's rays for a moment before taking a relaxing orbital path to New York, careful to avoid any satellites. Finding the Baxter Building in orbit was a bit of a surprise, but X-ray vision led him to a window where Ben was and they managed to pantomime well enough to let him know they were fine and didn't need any help. Shrugging, Xander waved and flew down to where the Baxter Building normally was. It was a simple matter to shore up the sides of the hole, seal the leaking pipes and tie off any sparking electrical likes, just to make the repair work easier for the Fantastic Four when they returned.

Retracing his steps Xander entered the subway and winced once more at the smell. Recalling what he'd said last time he started at a clear area and began using his heat vision to clean and sterilize the station.

"What are you doing?" one of the transit police demanded, doing an admirable job of hiding his fear.

"Cleaning and sterilizing, sir," Xander replied politely recalling Superman's lessons on how to minimize the public's fear of him.

The cop paused and examined the area. "That's impressive," he admitted.

"Not all powers are death and destruction," Xander replied. "I told Ben I'd see about cleaning things up a bit, so here I am."

"Ben?"

"Ben Grimm," Xander replied.

"Oh, go right ahead," the officer said immediately relaxing. "I'll get the people out of your way."

"Thank you," Xander replied and went back to work, carefully moderating the amount of energy he was using. It took him a full half hour, but most of that was applying a special glaze that the janitorial staff hadn't been able to get the place clean enough to apply before. As Xander had sealed the very last section of a station that looked better than new the people cheered with approval and started chanting, "Ben, Ben, Ben!"

Xander laughed and accepted the microphone the station master handed to him. "Hopefully I did a job that Ben finds acceptable." He had to wait for the applause to die down before continuing. "I'll be cleaning the entire subway, station by station over the year. You guys just keep on being the wonderful people Ben says you all are."

The next train arrived and the people left in high spirits much to the shock of the arriving passengers who were stunned at how clean the station looked.

"I don't suppose I could persuade you to help with the plumbing?" the station manager asked hopefully.

"As long as it's not ancient lead pipes, unless you just want those removed," Xander said.

The plumbing problem turned out to be mostly dealing with old sections of piping that they'd had to route around due to one battle or another destroying ancient sewer tunnels and the pipes that were in them. It took roughly two hours to redig and reinforce those tunnels so the plumbers could run new pipes and restore the system to how it was designed to work. Sure Xander could have laid the pipes himself but he wasn't about to help anyone 'out' of a job.

"You do good work," one of the older plumbers said, in honest approval which made it all worthwhile in Xander's opinion.

"What stations are you working on tomorrow?" the station master asked.

"No idea," Xander replied. "I'll stop by tomorrow and if you have a suggestion for one that needs it, I'll do that one, otherwise I'll just grab a train at random and pick a station."

"I'll check around," the station master promised. "Though I know a couple of stations that need help rebuilding."

"I can spare a Sunday to help with those," Xander promised. "As long as I'm not being used as a scab, I got no problem helping out."

That prompted a grin from the workers and Xander was soon on his way, carrying a bag with a foot long meatball sub and a couple of containers of pasta.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"Xander," Dr. Strange greeted him, eying the food he was carrying. "Stopping by for lunch?"

"Apparently," Xander agreed hearing Stephen's stomach rumble. "I built a castle based on some blueprints in one of your books and it looks like lightning has charged the runes on it. Problem is I copied the blueprints exactly without any knowledge of the runes involved and none of the books I've read show anything remotely like them."

"Perhaps we better take a look," Stephen agreed. "We'll eat there."

"It's in the Bermuda Triangle," Xander told him.

"We'll set sail from Florida," Dr. Strange decided and with a snap of his fingers they both vanished.

Wong entered the room a second later with a frown on his face. He'd just prepared lunch, a nice chicken salad, and he couldn't find the master. He just knew Stephen was off breaking his diet again!

**Typing by: The Last Primarch!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Walking on Sunshine 7**

A flash of light heralded the arrival of the pair in Florida.

Dr. Strange sniffed the air. "Let's grab a pizza and some drinks as well."

"Sure thing," Xander agreed.

**Three stops and a hundred dollars later...**

Xander balanced the stack of food containers in his left hand while Dr. Strange carried an ice chest filled with drinks.

"Ok, let's fly," Dr. Strange said, opening a portal and floating through it.

Xander flew after him, coming out above a 'deserted' desert island and scanned the area. "This way," Xander told Strange, and the two flew off to the west.

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"Looks like Stephan is breaking his diet," Fury remarked as they watched the monitor. "Put our flying nudist down as a known associate of Dr. Strange and put a note in his file that he may be trustworthy."

"Sir?" Maria asked in surprise.

"Stephen is an excellent judge of character. I trust his opinion slightly more than seeing if someone can lift Thor's hammer as a test of character."

"Should we make contact?" she asked.

"Have one of our resources in the area see to it," Fury agreed. "Low profile, tentative feelers. He'd be useful in construction if nothing else."

"Yes, Sir."

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"Nice work," Stephen said in admiration as he looked over the island.

"Thanks," Xander replied. "I considered making a volcanic island and having a giant skull carved in the side, as is tradition, but I thought the resulting tsunami would upset the neighbors."

"Good call," Stephen said before turning his attentions towards the castle. "You have to be kidding me!"

"What?" Xander asked.

"You built the castle of BadAssitude," Stephen said with a groan.

"And that's bad?" Xander asked as they landed in the clearing where he spent most of his time, and set the food on a picnic table.

"No, just embarrassing," Dr. Strange said, looking around.

"Why do you have so many lawn gnomes?"

"Same reason I have so much redwood patio furniture: salvage," Xander replied, raiding the cooler for a cola. "So why is the castle embarrassing?"

"Because I designed it during a week where I'd been de-aged to about fourteen," he admitted, snagging an order of deep fried chicken.

"You're kidding!"

"It was one of the stranger plots against me, I admit, but my fourteen year old self was a lot easier to distract and much more prone to rushing into things."

"So tell me about the castle," Xander replied with amusement.

"Didn't you build it?" Stephen asked.

"I built it based on the blueprints included, but the language everything was written in isn't one I recognize."

"It's a made up language," Stephen explained. "Steve-o thought it would be cool."

"Steve-o?"

"He thought Stephen sounded too stuffy," Dr. Strange admitted, embarrassed.

"Ok," Xander agreed, trying not to laugh. "And should I be concerned with the glowing runes? They look really creepy."

"No, they're doing exactly what they were designed to do."

"What's that?" Xander asked curiously.

"Glow and look really creepy," Stephen replied. "Remember, it was designed by a fourteen year old boy."

Xander laughed. "I can't throw stones. I am the one who thought the design looked cool and decided to build it."

"This is exactly the kind of place I designed it for," Stephen told him. "Deserted island in the Bermuda Triangle. The only things missing are the dinosaurs."

"I was planning on letting the foliage grow in some more before I brought them in," Xander admitted.

Stephen Strange, Earth's Sorcerer Supreme just stared at him for a moment before speaking, "You are so much like my fourteen year old self, it's scary."

Xander laughed. "Come on Steve-o, this setup was cribbed from the original King Kong movie."

"Heh," Stephen said as he thought about it. "I hadn't realized that was where I got it from, but I believe you're right."

"But, back to the castle," Xander said. "Me and magic don't exactly mix that well. What kind of things do I need to worry about?"

Stephen waved it off. "I designed it so a good sized lightning strike would charge it, so no casting on your part will be required. It'll keep itself clean and repaired. The obsidian wall in the main dining hall is a scrying device, though it requires rhyming requests to function."

"Like the magic mirror in Snow White?" Xander asked.

"Yes," Stephen replied, a bit embarrassed. "I like Disney. It works best on scrying television channels."

"Handy," Xander said.

"It even unscrambles premium channels and can watch up to a year in the past. The plumbing teleports water from the ocean and filters it, returning it the same way. There are also dozens of hidden rooms and secret passages, for no other reason than to have them."

"Cool!"

"I guess it is a bit cool," Stephen admitted.

"It is not only cool, it has style," Xander assured him. "It only seems a bit childish because every kid who ever watched the classic monster movies thought about designing their own place just like this."

"The modern movies just don't have the same feel," Stephen admitted.

"So what other cool ideas did you have for it that you know how to pull off now, but didn't think of when you were de-aged?"

Stephen set his slice of pizza down. "And what makes you think I did any more work on the idea when I was restored to my rightful age?"

Xander chuckled. "Not even as a mental exercise?"

"Well..."

*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*0*

"How goes the... He's a girl again?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, but he - or rather, she - doesn't look upset. Xander simply looked at the moon and laughed," Willow replied. "The sun rose and he's still a she."

"That is one hell of a bush," Buffy said, shaking her head.

"He, erm... Xander doesn't shave," Willow said, red faced.

"And how do you know that?" Buffy asked with a grin.

"Freshman year, he was acting like he got poison ivy someplace uncomfortable and he admitted he'd gotten bored one day while showering and shaved all the hair off."

Buffy burst out laughing.

"I had to buy him some hand lotion, which is why his hands are still so soft."

"Still..." Buffy had to wipe tears of laughter from her eyes.

"He's a guy," Willow said. "Too bad he hasn't kept up the habit now that he's blond." She turned bright red as she realized what she'd said.

Buffy stopped laughing and got a little flushed as she remembered how he looked as a man now. "I don't suppose we could send him a care package with some lotion."

"Buffy?!"

"What? We don't want him to get sunburned, now do we?"

"Well..."

**Typing By: Ordieth**


End file.
